December 6, 2020 | www.santansun.com
Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Parents question validity of CUSD virus data BY KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer
Candace Ditzler was surprised when she called the Chandler Unified School District to report her 9-year-old daughter had recently tested positive for COVID-19. While speaking to someone from the district’s health office, she said, Ditzler was informed that her daughter, a fourth grader at Jacobson Elementary School, would likely not be counted in the district’s public data of COVID-19 cases. CUSD started publishing numbers of COVID-19 cases at each of its 46 campuses after it returned to in-person teaching in September. The data
Candace Ditzler, seen here with her daughter Tatum, questions the validity of Chandler Unified’s COVID-19 dashboard because her daughter was not counted because school officials said she had not contracted COVID-19 on Jacobson Elementary’s campus. (Special to SanTan Sun News)
are updated daily and show how many students and staff at each school have been infected thus far. Ditzler said she was shocked to learn the district’s data does not represent every student who tests positive for the virus. She said CUSD told her that students who were not infected on campus do not get included in the data dashboard. Because Ditzler had cautiously taken her daughter out of school a few days before getting her tested, the mother discovered her daughter’s case wasn’t considered a school-related infection. “I was really upset at that point,” Ditzler recalled. It didn’t make sense to Ditzler because she couldn’t understand how
CUSD could conclude definitively her daughter was not infected on campus and would omit her from the district dashboard. “That to me seems really shady because if a kid’s positive, a kid’s positive,” she said. On Thursday, the district issued an email to parents that stresseed, "It is important to note that if a student or staff who have a confirmed positive COVID-19 test but did not participate in any on-campus activities during their infectious period are currently NOT reported on the dashboard." It said the dashboard is meant to "communicate the active confirmed See
VIRUS on page 11
New day has dawned for marijuana users BY JIM WALSH Staff Writer
Arizona’s newly approved Proposition 207 is enabling as many as three million residents to buy a small amount marijuana legally for the first time without a state-issued medical card and get high in their home. The new law promises millions of dollars for teacher training, substance abuse treatment, suicide prevention and even enforcement of impaired driving laws. It also promises a host of challenges. Police are preparing for more impaired drivers. The courts could see a deluge of requests for expungements of prior marijuana possession convictions. Prop 207 provides for neither defense. Prop 207 won a much larger victory – 1,946,440-1,302,458, or 60-40 percent, according to unofficial results – than President-elect Joe Biden did in the state. Although it legalizes possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, its full impact probably won’t hit home until April – when medical marijuana dispensaries will be able to sell weed to millions of new customers who won’t have to qualify for a medical marijuana card. Of course, it’s not as if those without a card couldn’t find marijuana in Arizona, a border state known for illegal drug trafficking. However, voter approval of the medical marijuana proposition in 2010 gave birth to a thriving industry. Through October, 287,715 residents with cards bought 2,786,197 ounces of marijuana from dispensaries this year alone, according to the Arizona Depart-
ment of Health Services. Tom Dean, a defense attorney who specializes in marijuana cases, said he anticipates many people will not understand all the nuances in the new law. He said people may mistakenly believe they can buy recreational marijuana now. They can’t because no dispensary is authorized to sell it and likely won’t be until April and Dean thinks some people “are going to say, ‘screw that, I’m going to buy it from someone willing to sell it to me.’’
dispensaries “areThestocking up and
ramping up production, the product is going to expand in availability. It won’t be about quantity – it will be about quality.
’’
– Paul Paredes
Assuming the election results are certified tomorrow, the law will allow anyone over 21 to possess an ounce of marijuana legally and smoke it in their home. Since those without a card won’t find any place to buy it legally, Dean advises people to be patient and wait until April, when dispensaries are expected to have the green light to sell recreational weed. See
MARIJUANA on page 16
Despite curbs on bars and restaurants during the pandemic, drunk driving arrests are up in Chandler and other communities and police will be looking for impaired drivers throughout the season. (Special to SanTan Sun News)
Nightlife may have ebbed, but drunk driving hasn’t BY JIM WALSH Staff Writer
Police tactics are changing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the East Valley DUI Task Force will return during the holiday season with the same goal of promoting public safety by busting as many impaired drivers as possible. Throughout Arizona, driving under the influence arrests are down 10-15 percent this year, but East Valley
agencies report the opposite trend, with Gilbert police arrests increasing 31 percent from a year ago and Chandler police also reporting an increase. Mesa and Scottsdale police report little change from a year ago, with drivers still drinking or using drugs before getting behind the wheel – apparently more at home or private social gatherings. “Overall, our numbers are down
F E AT U R E STO R I E S Proposals for widening I-10 in Chandler . . . . . . . . . . COMMUNITY . . . . . .Page 8 State Forty Eight creates foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . BUSINESS . . . . . . . Page 29 Chandler High team's therapy dog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SPORTS . . . . . . . . Page 36 Chandler teacher praised for innovation . . . . . . . . . NEIGHBORS . . . . . Page 41 New high-end restaurant coming to Chandler . . . EAT . . . . . . . . . . . Page 54
See
DUI on page 7
More Community . . . 1-27 Business . . . . . 29-34 Sports . . . . . . . 36-38 Opinion . . . . . . . . 39 Neighbors . . . 41-45 Arts . . . . . . . . . 47-50 Faith . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Directory . . . . 52-53 Eat . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54